CSKA erases 18-point deficit to down Maccabi

Defending champion CSKA Moscow stormed back from an 18-point deficit to beat Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv 76-80 on the road at Menora Mivtachim Arena on Wednesday in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Game of the Week. Despite playing without its top two scorers and All-EuroLeague guards Nando De Colo and Milos Teodosic, CSKA chalked up its sixth straight win to improve to 12-1 and remain in first place by a three-win margin. Maccabi, which was playing its first game under interim head coach Lior Lubin, who stepped in when Rami Hadar resigned last week, lost its fourth straight game to fall to 5-8. Cory Higgins scored 7 points of his team-high 16 points in the final three minutes to propel CSKA to victory in a game that saw four ties and five lead changes in the fourth quarter. Vitaly Fridzon scored 13 points, Aaron Jackson had 12 and both dished 5 assists for the winners. Andrew Goudelock led Maccabi with 19 points and 5 assists, Victor Rudd scored 14 and collected 8 rebounds, D.J. Seeley added 14 points and Colton Iverson 11. Maccabi, which set a club record for three-throw accuracy, by making 21 shots from the line without a miss, took charge early and led 38-20 midway through the second quarter. However Mikhail Kulagin and then Jackson helped fuel a CSKA comeback to within 46-42 at halftime. CSKA completed the comeback in the third quarter, which set up an exciting fourth, in which the champs showed their mettle and prevailed.

Maccabi came out with a lot of energy and raced to leads of 5-0 and 11-3 on back-to-back threes by Goudelock and Seeley. CSKA turned a few early steals into fast break points and Fridzon free throws closed the gap to 14-12. Goudelock hit back with 2 more triples and soon Rudd stepped up with an assists and a hook shot to boost the margin to double figures, 26-14. Goudelock’s
half-court pass to Rudd for an alley-oop slam brought the crowd to its feet and ended an exciting first quarter with the hosts up 31-16. CSKA scored the first two baskets of the second quarter, but Rudd’s highlight-reel slam kept the momentum with the hosts, who led 38-20 after Yogev Ohayon free throws. Mikhail Kulagin heated up for the visitors and his three-pointer closed the gap to 40-30. Jackson drove for a layup and sank a three that drew CSKA within 6. And his penetration and layup made it 46-42 at the break. Jackson stayed hot with a triple before a Semen Antonov three tied the game at 52-52. Coach Lubin was called for a free throw, after which Higgins gave CSKA its first lead. Antonov capped a 0-9 CSKA run with a three that made it 52-56. Maccabi regained the lead on Goudelock free throws that made it 59-58 at the end of the quarter. Back-to-back threes by Fridzon and Antonov put CSKA back in front, 63-66, three minutes into the fourth quarter. Maccabi battled back and Devin Smith’s gave the hosts a 69-68 edge. Higgins tied the game at 72-72 with a basket-plus-foul with three minutes left and his baseline jumper with 1:15 lifted the champs to a 74-76 advantage. Kyle Hines muscled his way to a basket with 22.8 seconds remaining to make it a two-possession game and after Maccabi missed twice from downtown, the victory was CSKA’s.

Head Coaches

ITOUDIS, DIMITRIS

CSKA Moscow

"I would like to congratulate my team. That was an amazing fight. That was an amazing statement for us that despite the obstacles, despite the bad start, we do find ways to win. We did believe in the system defensively, we managed to force 23 turnovers and we played exactly what was necessary to win the game. The CSKA team is the MVP of this game. Of course we played against a very talented team and we had to face these 25 points that I spoke about in transition. We limited it – actually, I think that we got one transition, 2 free throws, fouls, something like that, 2 or 4 points– And that’s huge. And we managed to come all the way in the [index rating], which shows how much we fought and how much we trusted each other, the player inside. So big congratulations for the contributions of the players. You know, every game is a fight in the EuroLeague, that’s what is EuroLeague about. We haven’t won anything in general, but we have won the attitude and that’s why we are happy today. "

Players

SMITH, DEVIN

Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv

"This was a step in the right direction for us. We had a different energy level. The fans noticed that and pushed us even further. We didn't get the win, but we feel like we have a lot to take from this game. I believe that if we keep going like this, and improve our weak spots, we can still turn around this season."

HINES, KYLE

CSKA Moscow

"It was a great team victory, everybody contributed. We got down early by 18, but we continued to fight. We continued to believe in ourselves, to believe in each other. It was a big statement win, especially because we are missing two of our best players. We fought and just continued to play. It is a big win on the road against a very talented team. For us, it was a statement win because we did it together."

HIGGINS, CORY

CSKA Moscow

"It was a game of runs. Most importantly we just had to stick together. We had a terrible start. And then we had guys step up, especially Misha Kulagin in the first half. And then just everybody stuck together and we took it one possession at a time and eventually we got ourselves back in the game. "